This paper presents a new database of indicators measuring the extent to which rulemaking processes are transparent and participatory across 185 countries.
... See More + The data look at how citizen engagement happens in practice, including when and how governments open the policy-making process to public input. The data also capture the use of ex ante assessments to determine the possible cost of compliance with a proposed new regulation, the likely administrative burden of enforcing the regulation, and its potential environmental and social impacts. The data show that citizens have more opportunities to participate directly in the rulemaking process in developed economies than in developing ones. Differences are also apparent among regions: rulemaking processes are significantly less transparent and inclusive in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia on average than in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development high-income countries, Europe and Central Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific. In addition, ex ante impact assessments are much more common among higher-income economies than among lower-income ones. And greater citizen engagement in rulemaking is associated with higher-quality regulation, stronger democratic regimes, and less corrupt institutions.
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Using a cross-country data set on e-government systems, this paper analyzes whether e-filing of taxes and e-procurement adoption improves the capacity of governments to raise and spend resources through the lowering of tax compliance costs, improvement of public procurement competitiveness, and reduction of corruption.
... See More + The paper finds that information and communications technology can help improve government capacity, but the impact of e-government varies by type of government activity and is stronger in more developed countries. Implementation of e-filing systems reduces tax compliance costs as measured by the number of tax payments, time required to prepare and pay taxes, likelihood and frequency of firms being visited by a tax official, perception of tax administration as an obstacle, and incidence of bribery. The effects of e-procurement are weaker, with the number of firms securing or attempting to secure a government contract increasing with e-procurement implementation only in countries with higher levels of development and better quality institutions. The paper finds no systematic relationship between e-procurement and bureaucratic corruption.
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The objective of the Second Transparency and Accountability Development Policy Loan (DPL) Project for Morocco is to strengthen mechanisms promoting transparency and accountability in the management of public resources and to support legal reforms fostering open governance in Morocco in line with the new Constitution.
... See More + This DPL supports policy reforms in two key areas: (i) strengthening transparency and accountability in the management of public resources; and (ii) fostering open governance. The focus of the operation is centered on reforms aimed at: (i) improving the government’s transparency and accountability in the management of public resources; (ii) fostering open governance through access to information and citizen engagement. These reforms will contribute to implementing the new constitutional rights and governance principles, which are based on greater public accountability, transparency, and participation. Over the medium term, these reforms are expected to have a positive impact on citizens’ voice as well as on the efficacy of the public sector in delivering services.
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The Public Finance Modernization Project for Ukraine had an unsatisfactory outcome with negligible to development outcome, and moderately unsatisfactory performance by both, the Bank and the borrower.
... See More + The lessons learned were: (1) Projects implemented in the context of institutional restructuring should address change management requirements of such reforms. The implications of the integration of the State Treasury and Ministry of Finance were not adequately addressed in the project design or implementation arrangements. (2) Projects supporting the implementation of complex integrated financial management information systems can mitigate the risk of IT failure by keeping the IT options open during project implementation. If PRMP had supported Treasury in the continued development of the e-Treasury system during project implementation, pending the final delivery of the PFMS solution, the project would have contributed to the development of a partial IT solution even if PFMS failed. This would have given continuity to Treasury modernization efforts and could possibly strengthened Treasury engagement in the project and reduced institutional resistance. (3) The procurement method for complex IT systems should be designed to minimize the risk of procurement failure. A single-stage bidding process was selected for procurement of PFMS in ICB3 to expedite completion of procurement process in the face of significant delays in project implementation. This coincided with project restructuring when the project duration was extended for two years. At this point it would have been relatively straightforward to extend the project by three years or more to accommodate a lower risk but longer duration two-stage bidding process. (4) PDO Indicators for PFM reform projects should focus on the PFM outcomes that the project seeks to deliver rather than the IT solution. PFM reform outcomes can be achieved by improving the regulatory framework, business processes and institutional capacity independently of the IT-enabled FMIS solution adopted. (5) The sequencing of project activities should be agreed during preparation and made explicit in project documentation. This could have been avoided if the sequencing of project activities had been agreed with the authorities during preparation and appraisal.
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This set of three case studies explores the intersection of openness, digital governance, andhigh quality information in Estonia,1 Finland, and Norway with the aim of identifying lessonsthat will support the same objectives in lower resource countries.
... See More + Openness, a key aspect ofthe international agenda for increasing transparency and accountability, for reducing public sectorcorruption, and for strengthening economic performance, rests on the principle that citizenshave a right to know what their governments are doing and to benefit from using governmentinformation. Goals for open, accountable, and inclusive governance rest on the assumption thattrustworthy information is available and can be shared meaningfully through strategies for digitalgovernance. This assumption needs to be examined. Does reliable and complete informationexist across lower resource countries? Can it be accessed readily? Will it survive through time?
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The development objective of the Open Government and Public Financial Management (OGPFM) Development Policy Operation Program Project for Tanzania is to support the government to establish open data in order to increase access and use of service delivery information as well as to improve budget credibility and execution.
... See More + This project development objective (PDO) is supported by two pillars: (i) open government partnership - support Tanzania's commitment to promote access to information, open budget, and open data in education, water, and health; and (ii) public financial management - improve budget credibility and execution through better cash management, public investment management, and procurement. Despite some improvements over time, a number of public financial management weaknesses also impede service delivery, including issues related to cash management, public investment management, and procurement. Given these challenges, on both the supply and demand side of service delivery, the Government of Tanzania (GoT) has recognized that business as usual will not deliver the change required to improve service delivery and alleviate poverty. In addition to joining the open government partnership (OGP) initiative, the government has adopted a new results delivery model, known in Tanzania as big results now! (BRN). In order to support OGP objectives and BRN priorities, Tanzania has recognized that access to open data is a critical prerequisite for improving participation and monitoring of government activities. The OGPFM development policy credit was designed to support Tanzania's current efforts to bolster delivery of public goods and services through a combination of demand and supply side governance reforms.
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The widening drive to provide open data in the public sector has taken a new turn in Burkina Faso. Open data has always been recognized as an enabler of economic development and government transparency.
... See More + But in October 2014, when a popular uprising ousted Burkina Faso’s long-standing leader and established a transitional government, the country’s nascent Burkina open data initiative (BODI) took on new life as an enabler of the transition. With support from the ODI and the World Bank, BODI had debuted just four months before the uprising, showcasing about 50 data sets of government information and an app that focused on education. In the months since then, the development of BODI has only accelerated, with more staff, more data sets posted, and new applications launched or planned. Under the transitional government, BODI has expanded with a web page for finding data on government contract awards and a program to help track and manage the country’s persistent drought problems. And BODI envisions a polling-place finder and reporting of vote totals as ways to support turnout and transparency for the scheduled October 2015 national elections.
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The Demand for Good Governance Project for Cambodia received a moderately satisfactory outcome rating with substantial risk to development outcome.
... See More + Both the Bank and Borrower received moderately satisfactory ratings for their performances respectively. The PDO was not revised. Following the mid-term review (MTR), the project was restructured by dropping sub-components 1B and 1D and amending the results framework (RF) as follows: (a) targets related to the dropped sub-components were also dropped; (b) all self-assessments were removed, as the measure had proved unreliable; (c) all compiled indicators were removed as they were aggregating different units; (d) qualitative indicators were introduced where quantitative data collection was distorting activities; (e) targets were increased to appropriate levels. As a result, the original 90 indicator results framework was reduced to 27 indicators. There were also two restructurings that resulted in an additional 18 months of the project. Several lessons were taken from this project including the following: (1) what is not possible nationally, is possible locally. State/non-state partnerships were stronger and more concrete at local level than at the national level, (2) when citizen voice is constrained, collective mechanisms are more successful than individual. Component 2 provided useful lessons on the levels of empowerment needed to fully utilize individual grievance redress mechanisms, (3) information on its own does not stimulate change; information plus monitoring makes a marked difference, (4) social accountability requires capacity and action on both the demand and supply sides. Action by both civil society and government, matching demand and supply-sides, is necessary for systemic change in the voice-accountability-responsiveness process, (5) alternative labor dispute resolution can be an effective substitute for formal forms of conflict resolution, (6) dont expect consistency or uniform improvements in governance. Potentially transformational programs to enhance citizen engagement and social accountability, administrative accountability and transparency can take place in a challenging governance context, (7) build in flexibility, utilize operational management tools and enable government to resolve its own issues, and (8) different aspects of governance, can be successfully incorporated within one project and produce significant achievements, but cross-fertilization should be allowed to emerge naturally.
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This paper seeks to restructure the Second Local Governance Support Project for Bangladesh. This level 1 restructuring proposes to: (i) revise the project development objective (PDO); (ii) amend one legal covenant in the financing agreement; (iii) update the results framework: modifying description and updating target values of intermediate result indicators based on the actual implementation progress; removing one intermediate result indicator.
... See More + The proposed changes will contribute to achievement of the PDO and are necessary to ensure successful project implementation and completion. The new PDO will limit the intergovernmental fiscal transfers to Union Parishads only. The original PDO is overly broad, as the mandate of the project support intergovernmental fiscal transfers only to Union Parishads. An amendment of the PDO is necessary to be consistent with the project design. The updated project development objective is to strengthen Union Parishads (UPs) to become accountable and responsive, through an efficient and transparent intergovernmental fiscal transfer system to Union Parishads.
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The Statistical Development Project for Nigeria received a satisfactory outcome with moderate risk to development outcome. The Bank received a satisfactory rating while the Borrower was rated moderately satisfactory.
... See More + There were no significant changes that took place during this project including components and restructuring. There are a number of lessons reported from this project. Lesson learned include: (1) The complexity of the Nigerian Statistical System must be taken into account in the design of any new statistics operation, (2) In case of multi-agency project, a strong governance arrangement needs to be established and funded during project preparation. Diversity of local needs in various states in Nigeria calls for the introduction of flexible project design for various states. (3) Linkages between the PDO, planned project activities, their sequencing, and alignment with the results indicators need to be strong at project design phase. (4) The governance structure of a project needs to be clearly defined, established and functional prior to project effectiveness. (5) Effective implementation requires consistency in project arrangements, and in addition, there should be a succession plan envisaged. (6) Importance of project governance, monitoring and reporting arrangements. (7) The project should consider operating separate designated accounts for each participant. (8) The presence of an in-country donor statistician was a strong asset in building trust among the different participants, in solving implementation problems and acting as a liaison between the government and the Bank. (9) Partner support can be helpful in providing critical technical assistance and fill in some gaps in financing. (10) CMU should be onboard. Its interventions could be used at critical points of project implementation. (11) Capacity building can be strengthened if accompanied by broader policy dialogue and reform. (12) Regular training and retraining in statistics related matters should be an important component of any statistical development project.
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The Eighth Economic Reform Support Grant for Burundi (ERSG) series covers three key areas, namely: (i) Strengthening public finance management and budget transparency; (ii) Promoting private sector investment promotion and economic diversification; and (iii) Strengthening safety nets systems.
... See More + The implementation of the eighth ERSG coincides with the third year of implementation of the Second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP II) and operates parallel to the eighth ERSG. PRSP II aims at: (i) transforming the economy for rapid job-creating growth and food security; (ii) making growth more inclusive and sensitive to vulnerable groups; (iii) realizing the potential of the population with a thriving private sector by increasing trade with neighbors; and (iv) developing institutions to improve governance and the quality of services. Under component one there are four sub-components: (a) streamlining tax expenditure; (b) strengthening strategic and budget planning processes; (c) reinforcing transparency of public finance management and procurement; and (d) managing the public wage bill. The Governments future reforms will continue to support private sector development with greater emphasis on export development and diversification. The critical role of export development and diversification in consolidating macroeconomic stability, accelerating growth, and job creation has been demonstrated in several analytical studies, in particular the World Banks Economic Update.
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The findings from the study suggest that international pressure for more effective Right to Information (RTI) implementation only goes so far. The development of RTI laws with the encouragement, assistance, or insistence of the international community was a prominent theme throughout the case studies, particularly for EU countries during their accession process.
... See More + But implementation is a less straightforward task, with many interlocking, moving parts, and international support comes in ad hoc fashion as the process unfolds. A strong implication from these findings is that a national coordinating strategy may be valuable for implementation. This kind of strategy document should take the interdependence of the drivers of effectiveness into account when drafting policies and rules for practice, and can serve as a guiding document when deciding on foreign funding priorities.
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This report presents the results of a novel study on land transparency in Vietnam; a study that focuses on the actual provision of information related to land.
... See More + This study was produced as part of the Vietnam Transparency Project, an effort to systematically measure transparency, provide actionable advice on how to improve transparency, and analyze the causes and effects of transparency in Vietnam. If a country's political, economic, and social system was a human body, access to information would be the nervous system. Just as the nervous system tells the brain where we are, where we are going, whether we are tired or injured or hungry or thirsty, flows of information help ensure that decisions are made efficiently and that resources are used productively and fairly. Information helps ensure that the organizations that make up the body politic are performing as instructed, that decisions reflect the pains and pleasures of the people whom the state serves. Coupling with economic strides, Vietnam has made impressive progress in opening up flows of information over recent decades. Internet penetration has grown rapidly, and citizens have more access to global and national news than ever before. Transparency of decision making by the state has also expanded. From the publishing of budgets and fiscal information, to draft laws, to televised sessions of the National Assembly, there is no doubt that Vietnam is a more transparent place than in decades past. The same holds true for land management, with successive legal changes gradually expanding the scope of information that is declared to be public information. At the same time, citizens and firms continue to report having difficulty finding the information they need, and problems such as corruption and the misuse and waste of resources continue to constrain Vietnams progress. In the area of land management, surveys of the perceptions of citizens and firms point to limited implementation of the land transparency rules that do exist. Many experts have highlighted the need for Vietnam to greatly expand transparency in the next phase of modernizing its institutions.
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This report presents the results of a novel study on land transparency in Vietnam; a study that focuses on the actual provision of information related to land.
... See More + This study was produced as part of the Vietnam Transparency Project, an effort to systematically measure transparency, provide actionable advice on how to improve transparency, and analyze the causes and effects of transparency in Vietnam. If a country's political, economic, and social system was a human body, access to information would be the nervous system. Just as the nervous system tells the brain where we are, where we are going, whether we are tired or injured or hungry or thirsty, flows of information help ensure that decisions are made efficiently and that resources are used productively and fairly. Information helps ensure that the organizations that make up the body politic are performing as instructed, that decisions reflect the pains and pleasures of the people whom the state serves. Coupling with economic strides, Vietnam has made impressive progress in opening up flows of information over recent decades. Internet penetration has grown rapidly, and citizens have more access to global and national news than ever before. Transparency of decision making by the state has also expanded. From the publishing of budgets and fiscal information, to draft laws, to televised sessions of the National Assembly, there is no doubt that Vietnam is a more transparent place than in decades past. The same holds true for land management, with successive legal changes gradually expanding the scope of information that is declared to be public information. At the same time, citizens and firms continue to report having difficulty finding the information they need, and problems such as corruption and the misuse and waste of resources continue to constrain Vietnams progress. In the area of land management, surveys of the perceptions of citizens and firms point to limited implementation of the land transparency rules that do exist. Many experts have highlighted the need for Vietnam to greatly expand transparency in the next phase of modernizing its institutions.
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This first round of eight case studies was completed in 2012. The case studies were prepared examining the experience of a number of countries that have passed Right to Information (RTI) legislation within the last 15 years: Albania, India, Mexico, Moldova, Peru, Romania, Uganda, and the United Kingdom.
... See More + Each country case study assesses four dimensions critical to the effective implementation of RTI legislation as follows: 1. The scope of the information that the law covers, which determines whether an RTI law can serve as the instrument of more transparent and accountable governance as envisaged by its advocates. For example, a law that leaves too many categories of information out of its purview, that does not adequately apply to all agencies impacting public welfare or using public resources, or that potentially contradicts with other regulations, like secrecy laws, will not be effective. 2. Issues related to public sector capacity and incentives, additional key functions and demands within the public sector created by RTI, entities responsible for these functions, and various organizational models for fulfilling these functions. 3. Mechanisms for appeals and effective enforcement against the denial of information(whether it be an independent commission or the judiciary); the relative independence, capacity, and scope of powers of the appeals agency, and the ease of the appeals process; and the application of sanctions in the face of unwarranted or mute refusals, providing a credible environment. 4. The capacity of civil society and media groups to apply the law to promote transparency and to monitor the application of the law, and a regulatory and political environment that enables these groups to operate effectively. The in-depth research presented in these case studies was conducted to examine factors that promote the relative effectiveness of these four key dimensions when implementing RTI reforms, including institutional norms, political realities, and economic concerns. An analysis was conducted to determine which models have the potential to work in different contexts and what lessons can be drawn from these experiences to help countries currently in the process of setting up RTI regimes.
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In the last 20 years, there has been a massive growth in the number of national laws giving individuals the right to access information held by public bodies (right to information or RTI laws).
... See More + The number of countries with such laws has grown from 19 mostly Western democracies i
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